Hitch - Amber Valletta Q&A

Compiled by: Jack Foley

Q. Do you think there is a need for a date doctor?
A. I don't think it's really about bringing people together.
Hitch's role is really about, he's kind of giving guys confidence
and showing them some tricks, and I do think there's a need for
that.
I think with the way the world is today, it's so instantaneous
and everything is now and there's hardly any inter-action between
people anymore, that yeah, I don't think it's any big deal. I
think we all need help. And I'm not afraid to ask for help.
And I think that's a great thing if we get back to courting each
other.

Q. Why did this process of courting evaporate do you
think?
A. Again I think it's the industrial age and technology.
With the techno-revolution it's only going to get faster; it's
really already crazy how fast things are today and our lives are...
people are basically dying of heart attacks all the time because
there's too much stress. We can't retain all the information and
do all the friggin things we need to do. And really we don't need
to do that much but we have created a society where we think we
do.
I think there's a Stevie Wonder song, Love is In Need For Love
Today, and that's really the truth of what our world is coming
to; it's not just romance on a sexual level between two people,
it's also about people in general. It's universal right now.

Q. There's a filthy rumour going around that you demanded
rehearsals with Kevin as far as the kiss was concerned?
A. It was filthy! I was dirty, I was always trying to
get him, and I was downright nasty! Well, I just can't say because
he's married and I'm married and I don't want to start a whirlwind
of publicity. I can neither deny or acknowledge that question.

Q. What is most important in a man from the point of
view of a woman? How important is a sense of humour?
A. Well I think what's really interesting in this film
is that you see Allegra and her appearance is sharp and tight
and attractive and Albert's kind of like a slob. But with the
help of the date doctor, he's given a new wardrobe and a new hair-do
and glasses, but essentially his personality... he told him to
hold back, but Albert can't seem to hold himself back and Allegra
is just as much of a goofball and kind of a fumbling fool as Albert
is, and that's why they like each other, because they see each
other for who they are and not what the outside is. And he does
look really handsome when he's cleaned up. But she's never had
anyone treat her the way he treats her and I think that's what
women are looking for, and men to - it's about respect, it's about
being able to be who you are and be genuinely free to be who you
are and grow in that.
That's when I think you go 'oh my gosh, I think I found my true
love', because you're being truly who you are, you're authentic,
and you're given the freedom to express all of that and make mistakes.

Q. As you became more famous and recognised, did you
find people projecting what they thought onto you, like your character
in the film?
A. I definitely could relate to Allegra's experience.
I wasn't from a rich family or any of that but because of the
celebrity and the modelling - which is in itself a huge thing.
But I love to break stereotypes, I get off on challenges, and
I think that it's really fun - what are rules for if we aren't
meant to break them? And that I mean in a really positive way.
I don't mean going out and being a criminal.
I mean it in the best way. If there weren't people like Nelson
Mandela - and I'm not comparing myself to him at all - but if
there weren't people that went against the grain, then the world
wouldn't change.
I definitely think there are a lot of stereotypes, but that's
another aspect of this film too; this film is saying don't judge
a book by its cover. All those characters, they all have a cover,
yet you come out to find that Will's been hurt, that Eva's been
hurt, that we're all vulnerable and looking for love.

Q. What was the worst pick
up line you've encountered?
A. I think I've actually blocked it from my mind. I'll
tell you the worst date, though, which was a blind date. We went
out. It was kind of cool how we met - he wrote a note where we
were staying at the same hotel and I called him in his room and
said I'd come and meet him downstairs and then we agreed that
we would go out on a date in New York City.
And we went out on this date and I don't know how it happened
but we both wound up talking about our ex's the whole time. The
relationship and what went wrong. If you'd been an outsider, you
would have got the feeling that these two people hadn't really
worked through the issues from the past and it was not going anywhere.
Needless to say there wasn't a goodnight kiss, I think we talked
later and said kind of 'yeah, nice to know you'.

Q. You mention chemistry between people, what was the
chemistry between you and your husband that made you realise this
was it?
A. Um, I think the chemistry between us was I saw in
him something that I was looking for which was being really grounded.
He's so rooted. That doesn't mean that he always knows his way,
there's something about him that's really solid. And I tend to
be much more fly by the seat of my pants and much more out there
with my thinking and I really love that in him and his truth.
He's honest and good.
And then there was this incredibly funny, sensitive person, and
I thought that was really special.

Q. And was he really romantic? Did he court you with
flowers?
A. Extremely romantic. We only spent like two or three
days together. We met on Christmas Eve, we went out that night,
and the next morning he took me to church. Then we went to my
family's Christmas party and then I was going on vacation ten
days later with a friend of mine and she backed out and my husband
coincidentally had some time off and I said 'do you want to go
on this holiday with me for a week?'
We made a pact, let me just say, to keep it platonic. That we
would get to know each other. We wouldn't have sex. We'd mess
around but no sex.
And if it went horribly wrong, I knew we were in a safe place
- The Bahamas - and the other thing was I knew his family and
he knew mine, so if he was a real creep there was no way he could
be creepy, because there were too many family ties.
So if we didn't like each other, we could just go our separate
ways on the island.
But it ended up being, just.... I remember he brought me flowers
every morning and put them on my pillow. Different flowers he'd
gone out and picked. I remember I did a dance for him to Ricky
Martin's Lavita Loka. Crazy like the things you do when you first
meet someone.
I remember I couldn't go to the bathroom, cos we shared this bathroom
in our room in a little bungalow, but it was right there off the
bedroom, so I couldn't go to the bathroom. I could urinate but
I couldn't do the other. So I got constipated! And I kept trying
to drink coffee to clear myself! And then he was going, no problem,
because he's a guy, and then finally it came up in conversation
and I had to confess.
And he said one thing to me that really was so powerful and probably
way over the top, but that's when I knew he was mine. He said:
"The woman just asked me if you were my wife and I didn't
correct her."
And that was amazing because no one had ever committed to me like
that before. I had a boyfriend for two years who wouldn't tell
me he loved me. And that drove me crazy.
So when he said that I was like 'wow, this is the kind of guy
I'm looking for'.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your next film,
Transporter 2?
A. Yeah, Transporter 2 is an action film, obviously similar
to the first one. And my son gets taken away and there's this
whole back story which I won't give away. Jason Statham have this
tension between us on a romantic level and obviously he's the
hero and I'm the dramatic crying housewife. And that's a fun story.

Q. And Man About Town?
A. That I did with Ben Affleck and Rebecca Romijn and
John Cleese. That's a satire and a really fun comedy for me. And
now I'm back on the pavement looking for a job.